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Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Book of Mormon Lesson 29: “Give Ear to My Words” Alma 36–39

Book of Mormon Lesson 29: “Give Ear to My Words” Alma 36–39After
the various missions of Alma, his sons, and the sons of Mosiah, we now
discuss key discussions Alma has with his sons, Helaman, Shiblon and
Corianton. In this lesson, we’ll primarily look at the counsel Alma
gives to Helaman and Shiblon.Alma’s
gathering of his children is very similar to Lehi’s final words of
counsel and blessing to his own children (2 Ne 1-4). Important issues
are shared that pertain to the needs of each of his children with a
final blessing to each of them.Guidance for HelamanAlma 36-37Helaman
is the oldest son of Alma. His name may be a form of Egyptian for “Her
Amun - In the Presence of Amun”. The Semitic letter “L” is made into
an “R” in Egyptian, so Helaman and Her Amun are cognate names. Vowels
were not used in the earliest Semitic languages, so Ammon could also be
spelled Aman, Amon, or Amun. Amun Re was the chief god of the Egyptians,
while Alma’s best friend, Ammon, was the chief leader of the Ammonites.
It seems fitting to name his oldest son after his best friend, Ammon.In
chapter 36, Alma begins by reminding us of a common theme in many of
his speeches: remember the captivity of the fathers, keep the
commandment and you’ll prosper in the land, you will also be gathered
together in the presence of the forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, a
symbol of the Godhead or Trinity.From this, Alma will teach us about grace and the requirements for salvation, justification and sanctification.

“Now,
behold, I say unto you, if I had not been born of God I should not have
known these things; but God has, by the mouth of his holy angel, made
these things known unto me, not of any worthiness of myself” (Alma
36:5).

Here
we see that Alma did not know about salvation, except it was taught him
by an angel. This blessing was given to him, even though he had not
done anything to deserve it. This is the first part of grace: God
imparts his gospel of hope to us, even though we have not done anything
to merit knowing it or partaking of it. This is a theme that Alma has
spoken on various times before, as well as Nephi and others. It is from
an angel that Adam learned why God had commanded him to sacrifice (book
of Moses 5:6-12). The angel Moroni and other angels delivered key
portions of the gospel and priesthood authority to Joseph Smith (Pearl
of Great Price, Joseph Smith History - 1). The ministering of angels is
a key in the Aaronic Priesthood and a Terrestrial function (JS History
1:68-72). It is one of the first steps in preparing us to enter into
the presence of God. We will see how this works with Alma.Alma
related the story of his conversion to Helaman. As a rebellious youth,
he went about trying to destroy the Church, he is stopped in his tracks
by an angel.

“For
I went about with the sons of Mosiah, seeking to destroy the church of
God; but behold, God sent his holy angel to stop us by the way.
And behold, he spake unto us, as it were the voice of thunder, and the
whole earth did tremble beneath our feet; and we all fell to the earth,
for the fear of the Lord came upon us.But behold, the voice said unto me: Arise. And I arose and stood up, and beheld the angel. And he said unto me: If thou wilt of thyself be destroyed, seek no more to destroy the church of God” (vs 6-9).

The
angel’s main purpose was to stop Alma and his friends from destroying
the Church. The angel’s phrasing is interesting: “If thou wilt of
thyself be destroyed....” Alma was obviously on a suicide mission. He
was angry with life and sought to destroy what he hated. While he
struck out at his father and the Church, what he truly hated was
himself. In collapsing into a coma for three days, he notes that he
wished he could cease to exist. Complete annihilation was Alma’s real
desire, because he saw no other option to end the torment he experienced
as a youth and carried with him into his coma. God did not create his
pain and torment, he caused it himself.Some
believe that Alma was actually experiencing a Near Death Experience.
If so, then Alma’s spirit was in the Spirit World, suffering in the
depths of Spirit Prison’s hell.In
a series of great posts reviewing Stephen Robinson’s book, “Believing
Christ”, Joseph Spencer notes: “In response to our over-dramatic plea to
the heavens, mostly offered in order to pretend that it’s God who has
cut us off, there comes a voice that simply asks: “Are you ready to stop
pouting yet?””
In reality, we are spoiled, little children who pout because we do not
get the exact gift that father wishes to give us. We blame God for our
misfortune. “If only I was born to better parents”. “If only I was
taller/smarter/prettier”. Or as Tevye sang, “If I were a Rich Man!”
Only when we stop pouting and humbly accept the gift offered to us, do
we see the real value in the gift of grace that is waiting to be
bestowed upon us.Because Alma refused to consider the gift of Christ, he suffered intensely for three days. Why did he suffer?

“But I was racked with eternal torment, for my soul was harrowed up to the greatest degree and racked with all my sins.Yea,
I did remember all my sins and iniquities, for which I was tormented
with the pains of hell; yea, I saw that I had rebelled against my God,
and that I had not kept his holy commandments” (vv 12-13).

He
didn’t suffer because of anything God did. He suffered because of what
he was doing: insisting on having things his own way. His actions and
beliefs had brought the fullness of his sins and guilt upon him.

“...the very thought of coming into the presence of my God did rack my soul with inexpressible horror.Oh,
thought I, that I could be banished and become extinct both soul and
body, that I might not be brought to stand in the presence of my God, to
be judged of my deeds” (vv 14-15).

For
Alma, his only solution was to stop existing. So it is with the
solutions of men. Many people live miserable lives, because their
riches, friendships, lifestyles, drugs, etc, cannot bring real happiness
or permanent solutions. For the person considering suicide, we must
note that it does not end existence. If you suffer here, you will
suffer in death as well. That is, you will suffer until you accept the
solution God offers.For
Alma, it was at the moment he remembered the things his father taught
that he had another option. It is this remembering that helped to save
him, and it is what may save us when we are going through hell. Alma
the Elder taught him that the Messiah would come and save all those who
would believe on his name and repent. As soon as the young man
remembered his father’s words and prayed for deliverance, he was
delivered from his Spirit Prison hell.

“when I thought this, I could remember my pains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more.
And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul
was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!” (vv 19-20)

Alma
is immediately rescued from spiritual death and suffering. He is now in
Paradise. He has not had to perform any works, keep any commandments,
or make restitution. All that was required was to believe and repent.
In this, Alma teaches us about justification. Justification is where
the atonement of Christ makes us sinless or guiltless, because we
believe and have repented. Justification saves us from hell and
spiritual death. Herein is where mercy claims us from the demands of
justice. There are two options with justice: we suffer eternally for
our own sins, or we repent and let Christ wash our sins away so there
are no sins to suffer for.This simple action brings us back into the presence of the Godhead.

“Yea,
methought I saw, even as our father Lehi saw, God sitting upon his
throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels, in the attitude
of singing and praising their God; yea, and my soul did long to be
there” (v 22).

From
a distance, Alma sees the divine council of heaven, with God on his
throne. We’ve discussed this event previously when Nephi quoted Isaiah
6, and Lehi saw God on his throne in 1 Nephi 1. There is a difference
here, though. Isaiah’s lips were cleansed with a coal, and he was
allowed to join the council in praising God and offering himself as
God’s messenger. Lehi was given a book to read, after which he joined
the council in praising God, and was given his prophetic calling as
well. For Alma, he is not given that opportunity at this time. All he
can do is “long to be there” with the council, and engage in its divine
discourse.Justification and SanctificationThere’s
a reason Alma was not invited into this special circle at that time.
He is not ready spiritually. Justification that comes from us
repenting and Christ’s washing away our sins and making us guiltless,
saves us from death and hell. It makes us ready for a kingdom of
salvation. But it does not exalt us. As Alma notes:

“Yea,
and from that time even until now, I have labored without ceasing, that
I might bring souls unto repentance; that I might bring them to taste
of the exceeding joy of which I did taste; that they might also be born
of God, and be filled with the Holy Ghost” (v 24).

Once
we are justified through faith and repentance, we must then be
sanctified. Sanctification is a process, where we go “from grace to
grace” receiving “grace for grace” (D&C 93:12-13). The process is
described in the Doctrine of Christ (2 Ne 31, 3 Ne 11), wherein we
follow a specific path: 1) Faith in Christ, 2) Repentance, 3)
Baptism/Ordinances, 4) Receive the Holy Ghost. This is a cycle, where
when we first do it, the Holy Spirit descends upon us and causes a
“mighty change of heart” (Mosiah 5:2) that causes us to only desire to
“do good continually.” As we walk in the Spirit, we develop a greater
faith in Christ, causing us to repent even more. We partake of the Holy
Supper or Sacrament, and ordinances of priesthood and temple. As we do
so, we then receive a greater portion of the Spirit that lifts us to a
higher level of grace in Christ. Sanctification is the process that
makes us holy and Celestial. When we become holy enough, God will
invite us into his divine council, to speak with the tongue of angels,
and engage in the work of God. Later
in Alma’s life, the angel that once condemned him will return and tell
him he is ready to take his rightful place, calling him to preach
destruction to a people, even as Isaiah and Lehi once were called to do
(Alma 8:14-15). Alma knows that some day he will be brought into the
divine council again, and be not just an observer, but a vital part of
the council.

“And
I know that he will raise me up at the last day, to dwell with him in
glory....inasmuch as ye will not keep the commandments of God ye shall
be cut off from his presence” (vv 28-30).

The Brass PlatesIn
chapter 37, Alma then discusses one of the Nephites’ most important
national treasures, the Brass Plates of Laban. Alma explains that these
writings are not just important to the Nephites, but that these
writings would go forth to all nations in the future. Given that we do
not have the Brass Plates available at this time, we can see that many
of their precious teachings have been brought to us by the prophets in
the Book of Mormon. Nephi quoted extensively from Isaiah. Jacob shared
Zenos’ Allegory of the Olive Tree. Alma and Amulek quote Zenos and
Zenock on their teachings regarding the “Son of God.” These plates are
so important that Alma explains they will be preserved until they all
come forth to the world.

“Now
ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto
you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass;
and small means in many instances doth confound the wise” (Alma 37:6).

LDS
often quote this passage to note that God does many great things
through small and simple things. We should note that this specifically
states this in conjunction with the Brass Plates and the sacred
scriptures. In pondering just what great things come to pass through
the scriptures we’ve received through the Book of Mormon can make for
great discussion. The scriptures

“enlarged
the memory of this people, yea, and convinced many of the error of
their ways, and brought them to the knowledge of their God unto the
salvation of their souls.
Yea, I say unto you, were it not for these things that these records do
contain, which are on these plates, Ammon and his brethren could not
have convinced so many thousands of the Lamanites of the incorrect
tradition of their fathers; yea, these records and their words brought
them unto repentance; that is, they brought them to the knowledge of the
Lord their God, and to rejoice in Jesus Christ their Redeemer” (vv
8-9).

What
is more plain and simple than the life, ministry, resurrection and
atonement of Christ? Yet it still confounds many who think they are
wise. Atheists and unbelievers seek to dismiss Christ’s saving work and
Godship by attacking the teachings of the Bible and Book of Mormon on
historical and scientific grounds. They cannot see God, and so insist
that it must all be fables and myths, like those of the Greek gods.Yet,
Alma was converted from the things his father taught him in the Brass
Plates and writings of Nephi. This atheist gained his own witness by
seeing that his disbelief did not have the answers nor solutions he
needed in his life. The spiritual witness did not come until after he
humbled himself and repented. But when it came, he was a rock of faith
for the rest of his days.

“If
ye will keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land—but if ye
keep not his commandments ye shall be cut off from his presence” (v 13).

Alma
gives Helaman the same teaching as Lehi did to his sons before his
death. There is a physical and spiritual dimension to this teaching.
Prospering in the land can mean to have good crops, but it can also
mean returning to heaven. Being cut off from God’s presence meant a
physical destruction for the Nephites, but it also means we could choose
suffering in Spirit Prison hell, even as Alma did.The
Nephite writings also contained the writings of the Jaredites, which
showed the secret combinations and evils that led to their destruction.
Alma warns Helaman to be aware of such dangers, but not to reveal them
to the people - don’t give them any bad ideas. And the secret
combinations that plagued the Jaredites and would plague his own people
would plague the world in the last days.

“I
will prepare unto my servant Gazelem, a stone, which shall shine forth
in darkness unto light, that I may discover unto my people who serve me,
that I may discover unto them the works of their brethren, yea, their
secret works, their works of darkness, and their wickedness and
abominations.And now, my son, these interpreters were prepared that the word of God might be fulfilled, which he spake, saying:
I will bring forth out of darkness unto light all their secret works
and their abominations; and except they repent I will destroy them from
off the face of the earth; and I will bring to light all their secrets
and abominations, unto every nation that shall hereafter possess the
land” (vv 23-25).

Gazelem
is a nickname for Joseph Smith. In the early days of the Church, some
revelations were given with code names for the leaders, because it would
be dangerous if such revelations fell into the hands of their enemies
and contained the real names. In the sections that used the nicknames,
Joseph Smith was called “Gazelem.” He is the one who has the seer stone
and Urim and Thummim, stones that shine in the dark and reveal all
things, including the works of evil men. This, then, becomes a major
reason for us having the Book of Mormon today - to reveal to us the
methods, actions and patterns of secret combinations. In doing so, we
can prepare and protect ourselves from those evil acts that will occur
in the latter days.After
discussing the seer stone and Urim and Thummim, Alma then discusses the
Liahona - the special compass given to Lehi to direct his way in the
wilderness.

“And
it did work for them according to their faith in God; therefore, if
they had faith to believe that God could cause that those spindles
should point the way they should go, behold, it was done; therefore they
had this miracle, and also many other miracles wrought by the power of
God, day by day.
Nevertheless, because those miracles were worked by small means it did
show unto them marvelous works. They were slothful, and forgot to
exercise their faith and diligence and then those marvelous works
ceased, and they did not progress in their journey” (vv 40-41).

Alma
will now state that the Liahona was also a “small means” by which God
brought forth great things. It worked on faith. When people rebel,
they lose faith and the Liahona no longer would work for them. So it is
with the Spirit of God. When we stop believing, God can do few things
for us. We are left on our own to find our own solutions. So it is with
faith in Christ. When we believe, he can do small things that turn
into great miracles. When we stop believing, we must then do all things
on our own, often to our own detriment (as Alma found out).Teachings to ShiblonAlma 38-39Alma
begins his discourse to Shiblon on the same lines as with Helaman,
telling him to keep the commandments to have peace and God’s blessings.
He discussed his conversion:

“And
it came to pass that I was three days and three nights in the most
bitter pain and anguish of soul; and never, until I did cry out unto the
Lord Jesus Christ for mercy, did I receive a remission of my sins. But
behold, I did cry unto him and I did find peace to my soul” (v 8).

Note
that it was through Alma’s begging for mercy and forgiveness that he
received a remission of sins. He was guiltless. His pain was healed
and replaced with peace and joy. Alma commended Shiblon for an honorable mission, and encouraged him to continue serving:

“Use
boldness, but not overbearance; and also see that ye bridle all your
passions, that ye may be filled with love; see that ye refrain from
idleness” (v 12).

Interestingly,
we learn that when we “bridle all your passions,” it allows us to be
“filled with love.” When we control our anger, we are able to be filled
with love. When we control our lusts, we can be filled with love.
When we control all of our passions, which can include romantic love,
we can be filled with Christ-like love.Words to CoriantonAlma 39Alma
severely chastises Corianton for forsaking his mission to romp with a
Lamanite prostitute. Obviously there was interaction between the
Zoramites and Lamanites on the border. This is the first mention of
prostitution in the Book of Mormon. In their mission among the
Lamanites, we do not hear of Ammon or his brothers dealing with such
things. It may be that, as it is often in our day, prostitution was on
the edge of society, in the wilderness frontier between Lamanite and
Nephite lands.Corianton
is told that sexual sin is the third most grievous type of sin. For
today’s society that accepts sex outside of traditional marriage as not
only the norm and acceptable, but as a “right”, shows just how far from
God our society has gone.The
second greatest sin is “shedding of innocent blood”. This separates
out killing as a defense or in war, from outright murder. Not much is
mentioned here regarding it, except its severity. Interesting that sex
and violence are so prevalent in society, when they should be the things
we denounce most of all.Denying
the Holy Ghost is the most grievous, and yet many LDS do not understand
what it means. Even within the Book of Mormon, the anti-Christ Sherem
feared he had lost his soul over denying the Holy Ghost. Yet, in
studying it more in depth, we see Sherem probably would not have
qualified.To
deny the Holy Ghost means a person has gone in league with Satan,
“loving Satan more than God” (Moses 5:18), and then murder an innocent
person, as Cain killed Abel to get gain and fulfill his covenant with
Satan. It isn’t just to deny that Christ is the Savior, or the
existence of God, but it is to become the absolute enemy of Christ.
Alma had become an enemy of Christ, but not so far that he could not
repent in Spirit Prison hell and be rescued by the atonement. Cain
fully became an enemy of Christ and loved Satan, wherein he gloried in
rebelling against God. Unlike Alma who wished himself away from
existence, Cain wished to exist in his evil state.Few
will become sons of Perdition in this life, because few will completely
reject the atonement of Christ. We are told that the Telestial Kingdom
of salvation is made up of vile people who eventually repented. As
with Alma or the poor Zoramites, most of them will be humiliated until
they humble themselves and repent. In doing so, they will be rescued to
a kingdom of heaven.But
sons of Perdition will forever refuse to repent and call on the name of
Christ for salvation. They will always call on Satan to save them,
even though he will be unable to give them anything other than perdition
and darkness.ConclusionFor
all three sons, Alma has taught them they need to believe on Christ and
repent. They (and we) all need to have our sins washed away. This is
done in three easy steps: 1) Believe in Christ, 2) Repent, 3) Repeat as
necessary.There
is no reason for any of us to spiritually suffer. We must just begin
to believe, desire to believe, and hope that Christ really can heal us.
Then as we repent, we will see our despair change to hope, joy and
peace. These are the steps to being saved in Christ. Once done, we may
see God in the distance, and be filled with joy.Once
saved, we can then seek to be made holy through Christ’s atonement,
making covenants and ordinances, and receiving the Holy Ghost. In
becoming holy, we shall be invited to join the angels in worshiping
Christ and becoming part of the divine council. We shall enter into the
presence of the Lord and have that great and exquisite joy Alma
experienced.BibliographyHer-Amon in Hugh Nibley, “Men of the East” article: http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/books/?bookid=59&chapid=555Joe Spencer, “Believing Christ Revisited”: http://feastuponthewordblog.org/2012/06/01/announcing-a-series-_believing-christ_-revisited/

1 comment:

Thanks for this! Some have mocked the claim that the Book of Mormon contains the fulness of the gospel, as it doesn't speak (overtly) of endowments, baptism for the dead, the Word of Wisdom, etc. But that is a misunderstanding of what comprises 'the gospel.' You have shown yet another example of how Alma's life and teachings demonstrate the fulness of the gospel.

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About Me

Grew up in Missoula, MT. Retired after 20 years in the USAF.
Working as Classification Specialist for Indiana DoC.
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Degrees:
AS in Computers,
BS in Resource Mgmt,
MA in Teaching/History
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Great wife, 3 grown kids, 7 grandkids.